Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC systems) are used in residential and/or commercial areas for heating and/or cooling to create comfortable temperatures inside those areas. These temperature controlled areas may be referred to as comfort zones. Comfort zones may comprise different zone conditions (i.e., temperature, humidity, etc.) and the locations in which the HVAC systems are installed or otherwise associated with for the purpose of performing heat exchange (sometimes referred to as an ambient zone) may also have different conditions. Both the zone conditions and the conditions of the location affect operation of the HVAC systems and, where the conditions are different, may result in otherwise substantially similar HVAC systems operating at different efficiencies. Some HVAC systems are heat pump systems. Heat pump systems are generally capable of cooling a comfort zone by operating in a cooling mode for transferring heat from a comfort zone to an ambient zone using a refrigeration cycle (i.e., Rankine cycle). When the temperature of an ambient zone in which a portion of an HVAC system is installed or otherwise associated with is colder than the temperature of a comfort zone with which the HVAC system is associated, the heat pump systems are also generally capable of reversing the direction of refrigerant flow (i.e., a reverse-Rankine cycle) through the components of the HVAC system so that heat is transferred from the ambient zone to the comfort zone (a heating mode), thereby heating the comfort zone.
One example of rating the cooling energy efficiency of an HVAC system is the use of the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating. To obtain a SEER rating, the HVAC system is tested under prescribed conditions (i.e., certification conditions) to determine the efficiency at which it generates an energy output based on an energy input. The prescribed conditions generally involve very strict control over the zone conditions and the ambient conditions of the location of the installation of the HVAC system being tested. A higher SEER rating is indicative of a more energy efficient HVAC system. The higher SEER rating indicates that the HVAC system may be operated at a lower energy cost than an HVAC system having a lower SEER rating.